Roller skate



R. L. BIDDLE ROLLER SKATE Filed Jan. 25, 1946 I 4,5, IIIIIIIIWIIIIIII /l/I/Il/II/II/III'I/ 1/6 ll Is -mnnnnnnnnngmnnnnnn Dec. 26, 1950 I a a a LVENTOR,

RALPH L. [510mg .Br W4: m Era/ME).

I i 3 a i in i smt e ev tio I 1 n 4-4 ed U Fig. 5, a View in central longitudinal section onaline55inFig.l. Like characters of reference indicate like parts throughout the several views of the drawing,

"A foot plate ID is provided with a central rein- Patented Dec. 26 1950 U N I T ED S TATES *PAT EN T "1 CE "2535,88"? RdLLER six-ATE with" L. Biddle, Indianapolis, 11a. ""lipplication January 25, 19 1's, Seti'alNof643i3Il7 rjhis'inventi on relates toafroller skate'wheein l jfront and rear trucks are pivotly mounted ;to

turnbnein the opposite directionfromthe other fatfthe will of the user to permit sharp turns. A primary object of this invention is to provide ;a [structure whichwillgive afull, completacontrol of both front and rea trucks whereby onefis Other objects and' advantages of the'inveifition including the unique combination ofthevarious elements to achieve the above results indicated f will become apparent to thoseskilledin thef'irt in the following description of one particular for of the invention as illustrated'i'n thenccompanying drawing in which:

Fig. 1 isa bottom plan view of a ing t nv nt n; I I I v I Fig. 2 ayiew inside elevation skate embeds- Fig. 4, a view invertical transversesectiouon forcing under-girder II secured thereto-and-underside, and brackets I2 andIS atthe respective ends of the girder I I, each bracket having respectively inclined faces l4 and' I5 extending downwardly and outw-ardlyin opposing relation.

Truck heads I6 and I! respectively bear against thesefaces I4 and I5 through interposed friction plates l8 and I9. Theseplates iii and I9 are slightly resilient and are made out of some materialsuch as fiber or plastic which will permit actual sliding of the truck heads thereover. Studs 20 and'ZI respectively are seated in the brackets I2 and I3 to extend normally from their respective faces I4 and I5 through the plates I8 and I9 and on through the respective heads I6 and I! to extend a sufiicient distance therefrom to carry compression springs 22 and 23 underadjusting nuts 2 3 and 25, as"b'st illustrated in Fig. "5 in reference to the forward truck had ifi.

The forward truck head Ifica'rries iri the 'usual mannera transverseaxle ZEon the cute ends of which are suitably mounted the rollers "21 and *Msuchas by ball bearings 29. "In like meinner (Cl. 280'1'1'.28) I. I I 2 *the war ead II carri e'sthe transversely augneu axle 3|] onythe OIIt fnds of "which arebarried 'the rllers3I andx32. On the aX1e26 isfixed a lever 33 by its forward end, from Which axle-"26, the lever 33 extends rearwardlyand upwardly to have attached thereto a ball= and socketfioint '34. shaft flfixtnds fiomthe ball and socket joint 34 diagonally"acrossunder the 'girder fl to have it's other endadjustably secured to a ball and socket joint [36 fixed to the forward end of aJeVer 31 inturn fixed to the rear axle *30. Ihis lever 31 extends 'fo'rwar'dly and upwardl' from the axle 3B to positiontheinterconnecting"shaft 35 substantially in horizohtal alignment. in i5 dicated in Fig. 1, the lever 33 is positioned between therollerz fland thehead I6 on the one sideof the 'skate (right hand side ar afleit foot skate) and the lever *3! is pcsitioried between the rolls-r3 I" and the'head" I? onthe left liahd side 1 of the skate.

Oh each side of "the *head I6, leaf sprihgs -38 and 39 are positioned to have the axle 26 go therethrough and are carriedupwardlyand rar "wardly to straddle the forwardend'ofthe girder 26 II and. receive through s'lots M1 their uppr ends a bolt 4| carried by the girder II This bolt 4| extends from looth'- sides'of tlie girder I I Fig. -t sufficient distances to carry re'spectivelythe eom res'sionsprmgs "41 and 43f undei" win g" nuts 44 'an'd 45. -Preferably spacers 46 and 41 are 'i'nterposed between the upper ends" of the meinijrs 38 i and 33 and the respective faces of the girdr 1 I l in order to space apart those ends ofthe members 38 and 39. Washers 4B andAB-are likewise l providedagainst the outer mes ofthe members 3-8 I ancl T 39* against which the's plin gs "42 and C43 "may respectively bear. On one side of the head I 5, herein shown as the inner sidef is interposed between and thmeniberaiiiiliary' leaf spring 59" which: terminates before 1 reaching tli e bolt ql As indicatedin the drawingfthe leaf springs 38 "and 39 have their centralportions between the bolt 4l and theaxle 2fi-bowed -outwardly one from the other 1:0- perm it flexingand :5" reduction i1i-efiective lengthsof the members.

j In the same-manner the rear akle 30 carries tipfwardly and forward1y' directed bowed leaf springs fiI-fand fl through 'the -upper forward ends'of which ==eas a bolt -*53 carried -by the girder I I.

thereagalnst, turning of those heads around their respective pivot bolts 20 and 2| will cause the axles of the rollers to rock from parallelism with the plate It to oblique angles thereto; which is desired in order that extra pressure exerted by the wearer on one side of the skate will tend to produce that turning effect. This turning effect is controlled through the interconnecting shaft 35 and the leverage system above discussed whereby the turning effect is substantially the same but in opposite directions within the limits permitted by the leaf springs 38, 39, and 5!, 52 for both truck heads 16 and H. The amount of pressure required to produce this turning effect is controlled by adjusting the nuts 24 and 25 on the pivot bolts and 2! respectively plus adjustments of the wing nuts 4 45 and 55, 56 resisting travel longitudinally of the respective leaf springs frictionally (by reason of their slotted upper ends) by side pressure thereagainst whereby increased friction on the upper ends of those leaf springs will tend to require bowing of those leaf springs before the turning effect is secured. It is to be noted that all four of the rollers 2'1, 28, 3!, and 32 have their outer circumferential edges rounded in order to facilitate the rocking of the trucks under control of the skate wearer. In other words, the wearer may rock his foot to rock the plate It to bear down on the one side to cause the opposite rollers to tend to seat on the floor and thus hold the truck heads in the turned positions, whereby the wearer may execute a very short radius of turn. The thickness and number of the leaves of the springs 38, 33,

5|, 52, and 51 may be varied depending upon the U Weight of the skates-stiffer spring being desirable for heavier weights.

While I have herein shown and described my invention in the one particular form, it is obvious that structural variations may be had without departing from the spirit of the invention, and I therefore do not desire to be limited to that precise form beyond the limitations as may be imposed by the following claims.

I claim:

1. In a roller skate, a foot plate; fore and aft roller trucks rockably mounted under said plate on oppositely inclined axes; a lever extending from each truck toward the other truck, the lever of one being on an opposite side of the rotation axis of the other; and a shaft rockably interconnecting said levers, whereby turning of one truck induces opposite turning of the other truck; and means selectively yieldingly resisting said turning; said means comprising a bowed leaf spring carried by each of said trucks to extend approximately normal to their axes of rotation toward the underside of said plate between said trucks, means carried by said plate separately receiving the upper end of each of said springs, and means selectively yieldingly securing said upper spring ends to their respective plate carried means.

2. In a roller skate, a foot plate, a bracket mounted under each end portion of the plate and having a downwardly and outwardly inclined face; a pair of trucks, each having a head bearing on each of said bracket faces, an axle transversely positioned, and a roller on each end portion of the axles; a king pin extending normally from each of said faces to engage the respective truck head for relative rotation between the head and said face; means selectively yieldingly retaining each of said heads against said rotation; a lever carried by each of said trucks to extend inwardly 4 under said plate, one toward the other; a shaft interconnecting inner end portions of said levers; one of said levers being on one side of the king pin of one truck head and the other lever on the opposite side of the other pin; a leaf spring carried by each truck to extend upwardly toward said plate between said. trucks; and a member carried by said plate adjacent each of said brackets, the upper end of each of said leaf springs being carried by said member; said leaf springs being bowed between the trucks and said member.

3. In a roller skate, a foot plate, a bracket mounted under each end portion of the plate and having a downwardly and outwardly inclined face; a pair of trucks, each having a head bearing on each of said bracket faces, an axle transversely positioned, and a roller on each end portion of the axles; a king pin extending normally from each of said faces to engage the respective truck head for relation rotation between the head and said face; means selectively yieldingly retaining each of said heads against said rotation; a lever carried by each of said trucks to extend inwardly under said plate, one toward the other; a shaft interconnecting inner end portions of said levers; one of said levers being on one side of the king pin of one truck head and the other lever on the opposite side of the other pin; a leaf spring carried by each truckto extend upwardly toward said plate between said trucks; and a member carried by said plate adjacent each of said brackets, the upper end of each of said leaf springs being carried by said member; said leaf springs being bowed between the trucks and said member; said leaf springs being mounted on common sides of said trucks; a second set of bowed leaf springs, one carried by each truck on sides opposite the first leaf springs, said second set of springs also having their ends carried by said member; a bolt through said member and the ends of the leaf springs of one truck; a second bolt through said member and the ends of the springs of the other truck; all of said spring upper ends being slotted to travel across said bolt; and selectively yielding means on each bolt for resisting said spring travel.

4. A roller skate comprising a foot plate; fore and aft roller trucks rockably mounted under said plate on axes inclined one toward the other from opposite end portions of the foot plate; a lever extending from each truck one toward the other, the lever of one being on an opposite side of the rotation axis from the other; a shaft rockably interconnecting said levers, whereby turning of one truck induces opposite turning of the other truck; and means yieldingly resisting said turning comprising a leaf spring fixed respectively to each of said trucks by one end portion, a leaf spring mounting on said foot plate between said trucks, and said springs being attached to said mounting.

RALPH L. BIDDLE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 177,567 Saladee May 16, 1876 293,299 Barney Feb. 12, 1884 328,510 Owsley et al Oct. 20, 1885 1,034,625 Kohler et a1 Aug. 6, 1912 2,162,128 Shoemaker June 13, 1939 2,430,533 Reich Nov. 1, 1947 

